Retractable automatic breaking door for starting gates

ABSTRACT

A race track starting gate has a plurality of stalls each with front doors that simultaneously swing open during starting and rear breaking doors with lower portions that can be raised together. The rear doors of each stall are pivoted to the starting gate frame for opening to admit a horse and each rear door is provided with fenders to guide the horses and enclose same when the doors are closed. A common lifting device is connected to each lower door portions for lifting those portions off the ground at the same time.

[ NOV. 28, 1972 United States Patent Mills 2,868,168 1/1959 19/l5.5 2,970,016 1/1961 Woldring.......................308/6 3,604,399 9/1971 19/155 Richard M. Mills, Inglewood, Calif. [73] Assignee: Puett Electrical Starting Gate Primary Examiner-Aldrich F. Medbery Attorney-Mason, Mason & Albright Tuckahoe, NY.

[22] Filed: May 20, 1971 ABSTRACT A race track starting gate has a plurality of stalls each with front doors that simultane ing starting and rear breaking Appl. No.: 145,247

ously swing open durdoors with lower por- ....A63k 3/00, A63k 3/02 ther. The rear doors of each stall are pivoted to the starting gate frame for opening to admit a horse and each rear door is provided with fenders to guide the horses and en tions that can be raised toge [51] Int. [58] FieldofSearch......

close [56] References cued same when the doors are closed. A common lifting UNITED STATES PATEN device is connected to each lower door portions for same time.

lifting those portions off the ground at the 2,273,493 2/1942 McMillan.................1 19/15.5 2,888,904 6/1959 Purcell 19/155 7 Clains, 5 Drawing Figures PATENIEWM 3.703.333

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sum 3 or 4 I INVENTOR RICHARD M MILLS ORNEKS' PATENTEDW 28 I972 //v VENTOR RICHARD M. MILLS By '7 ORNEYS RETRACTABLE AUTOMATIC BREAKING DOOR FOR STARTING GATES This invention concerns a starting gate for horse racing and, in particular, a novel rear broken door structure which permits the simultaneous lifting of all lower door portions once the front gates have swung open and the race begun. The purpose of providing broken rear doors is to allow the bottom portions of the doors to be extended to the ground when the horses are in their stalls waiting for the front gates to open. The back doors thus extended, afford stops for the rear hoofs and a breaking clock to start from while preventing the horses from extending their legs to the rear of the closed gates where there is a possibility of physical damage to the horses hocks upon starting.

It is known that upon starting, horses raise their front hooves and push almost entirely with their rear hooves. If the ground crumbles under the rear hooves, the horse loses balance and often injures itself. It is thus important to guide the rear legs of the horses so that the legs are properly placed before starting and that the rear gate structure be provided to prevent the horses from catching their legs upon starting. While starting pads such as those disclosed in US. Pat. Nos. 2,888,904 and 2,955,570 can be used to prevent ground crumbling, the present invention can be employed with or without such pads to guide the rear legs of the horses so that their hooves are correctly placed before starting and also to prevent the horses from striking their rear legs against the lower edges of the rear doors.

FIG. 1 is a prospective view showing the towing side of the gate;

FIG. 2 is a rear elevation of the gate with parts broken away;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the gate taken along the lines 3-3 of FIG. 2 with parts broken away and showing one rear door portion lowered and opened;

FIG. 4 is a rear elevation view of a back door showing its two portions separate; and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the FIG. 4 door.

ln FIGS. 1 and 2 the starting gate 1 has a wheeled frame 3 that includes vertical beams 5 that define the entrances to a plurality of stalls. The starting exits for each horse include swinging front gates 7 which are normally held together by electromagnets (not shown) in a forward V formation. The electromagnetic starting mechanism for simultaneously opening all of the front gates is conventional and forms no part of the present invention. However, the lifting device for raising the lower portions of the broken rear doors can be operatively associated by a delayed action switch with the opening operation of front gates 7 so that all the lower doors are raised shortly after the front doors swing open. The gate 1 can then be removed from the race track.

The interior of each stall has a cushion fender 24 which extends along the entire side 9 as shown in FIG. 3 and the fender also extends along a rear frame extension 11. A pair of rear swinging doors 13 is pivoted to each frame extension 11 which is connected to its respective vertical beam 5. Each door 13 is hinged to the extension 11 on a pivot pin and leaf assembly 15 to be swung open or closed to confine the horse within a stall. Each door 13 has an upper portion 13A which is hinged to extension 11 and a lower portion 138 which has a foot forming part of a pin and leaf hinge 17 on beam 19 which vertically is slideable within the outer upright beam 12 of extension 11. The upper portion 13A has a fiamework including side channel beams 21 which receive lower portion 133, the latter telescoping within beams 21. A spring (not shown) is positioned between the portions 13A and 13B to urge the lower portion to firmly contact the ground. Also, to each upper portion 13A, a curved cushion fender 25 is secured to assist in guiding the horses rear legs and to provide a backup stop for the horses when the doors are closed.

The upper surfaces of the fenders 25, like fenders 24, are horizontal and when the doors 13 are closed, the fenders 25 form a rounded Vee when viewed in plan. The fenders 24 and 25 are strong enough to be a safety step for the jockeys should a horse be fractious and attempt to turn over. When open to admit the horses, the fenders prevent the horses from striking any edges of the gate.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the rear door portions are shown separated, but the lower portion 13B has upper rollers 29 that fit within the side channel beams of framework 21. The upper portion 13A also has a hollow fender 25' shown in FIG. 3 and in FIGS. 4 and 5. The configurations of the fenders 24 and 25 are generally the same. Portions 13A also has lower rollers 31 that bear on the sides of lower portion 138 when the latter is fitted in the side channel beams. The forward corner of the fender 25 of each door 13 fits within the hollow of the corresponding fender 24 of each side 9 when the doors 13 are closed. A bumper 26 is similar to fender 25 is mounted on each of the front doors 7 and positioned adjacent the fenders 24 so that the upper surfaces of the latter coextend with bumpers 26. The rear corners of the bumpers 26 fit within the forward corners of fenders 24 below the upper corners thereof when doors 7 are closed.

As seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, the beams 19 are slideably received in extensions 11 and are each connected to a flexible member, such as a cable 33 secured at one end to a tag 35 on beam 19. The cable 33 is passed over sheaves 37 hoursed in extension 11 and secured to upright beam 5 respectively and extended to a further sheave 39 mounted in the upper part of the gate frame 3. Each cable is connected to a master cable 40 with connectors 41. The master cable 40 extends along the upper portion of frame 1 to form the last cable 33 in the end stall. The opposite end of cable 40 has a loop 43 connected at its lower most end to a hydraulic piston or ram 45. A connection 47 is made to cable 40 to a manual lift 49 in case of hydraulic failure.

The hydraulic ram 45 has a twelve inch stroke and is movable within cylinder 48 responsive to control member 46 having a conventional valve device actuated by handle 51 for alternatively applying hydraulic pressure to move piston 45 up or down. Fluid under pressure is supplied by pump 53 connected to a twelve volt electric motor 55 which is controlled by switch 56 to battery 57. I

Thus, each door 13 can be swung open and shut to admit and enclose the horses in their stalls before each race. Then the vertically movable lower portion 133 is lowered so that tapered lower end 14, which is a block of heavy rubber, is in contact with the ground. With the bottom doors 13B resting on the ground, the horses hocks cannot su'ike the lower edges upon starting.

What is claimed is:

l. A mobile starting gate for a race track comprising a frame having a plurality of stalls and each stall having front gate means and rear door means, said rear door means including a pair of swinging doors joumalled to said frame for admitting and enclosing horses within each stall, each swinging door having an upper portion pivoted to said frame and a lower portion having a ground engaging means movably mounted on said upper portion, lifting means on said frame and connected to each of said lower portions for simultaneously raising said lower portions relative to their respective upper portions, whereby the rear door means of the starting gate is raised a substantial distance off the ground.

2. The gate of claim 1 wherein said frame includes an upright beam at the rear of each stall at each side thereof and the lower portion of each swinging door is pivoted to a channel beam which is vertically movable relative to said upright beams, said lifting means comprising a flexible element connected to each channel beam.

nan-n 3. The gate of claim 2 wherein a hydraulic lift cylinder of said lifting means is mounted on one end of said gate and said flexible element is operatively associated to be movable with said lift cylinder to raise the bottom portions of said doors.

4. The gate of claim 1 wherein each upper portion of said swinging doors has a framework and each lower portion telescopes within said framework when raised.

5. The gate of claim 4 wherein each lower portion has rollers that engage the side beams of the framework of its respective upper portion whereby said lower portions slide telescopically within said upper portions.

6. The gate of claim 1 wherein the sides of each stall has fenders and the upper portions of said swinging doors have fender means which are complimentary with said fenders of said side.

7. The gate of claim 1 wherein said ground engaging means are the lower edges of said lower portion and comprise bumpers that contact the ground when said rear door means is in lowermost position. 

1. A mobile starting gate for a race track comprising a frame having a plurality of stalls and each stall having fRont gate means and rear door means, said rear door means including a pair of swinging doors journalled to said frame for admitting and enclosing horses within each stall, each swinging door having an upper portion pivoted to said frame and a lower portion having a ground engaging means movably mounted on said upper portion, lifting means on said frame and connected to each of said lower portions for simultaneously raising said lower portions relative to their respective upper portions, whereby the rear door means of the starting gate is raised a substantial distance off the ground.
 2. The gate of claim 1 wherein said frame includes an upright beam at the rear of each stall at each side thereof and the lower portion of each swinging door is pivoted to a channel beam which is vertically movable relative to said upright beams, said lifting means comprising a flexible element connected to each channel beam.
 3. The gate of claim 2 wherein a hydraulic lift cylinder of said lifting means is mounted on one end of said gate and said flexible element is operatively associated to be movable with said lift cylinder to raise the bottom portions of said doors.
 4. The gate of claim 1 wherein each upper portion of said swinging doors has a framework and each lower portion telescopes within said framework when raised.
 5. The gate of claim 4 wherein each lower portion has rollers that engage the side beams of the framework of its respective upper portion whereby said lower portions slide telescopically within said upper portions.
 6. The gate of claim 1 wherein the sides of each stall has fenders and the upper portions of said swinging doors have fender means which are complimentary with said fenders of said side.
 7. The gate of claim 1 wherein said ground engaging means are the lower edges of said lower portion and comprise bumpers that contact the ground when said rear door means is in lowermost position. 